The company, which owns most of the land on the Block,
expects to present its 400-page concept plan for a $40 million redevelopment of
the troubled area to the NSW Planning Minister, Frank Sartor, next week.
But it was forced to jettison the plan’s centrepiece because
RailCorp cancelled several meetings and pulled the pin on discussions without
explanation, the project director, Peter Valilis, said.
The proposed 500-square-metre “Red Square” would
have featured markets and linked Redfern station and Lawson Street to Tony
Mundine’s gym, an indigenous art gallery and the residential areas of the
Block.
But its construction would require a triangular truss to be
built over the railway lines as they approach Redfern station from the north.
The wall that partially hides the Block from view would then be demolished and
the area opened up to Lawson
Street and the station.
RailCorp executives initially supported the idea, provided
it cost it nothing and was structurally safe, Mr Valilis said. An engineer’s
report found the plan to be sound, but discussions stalled in September last
year.
The housing company has since filed a freedom of information
request in an attempt to learn RailCorp’s intentions for Redfern station.
“We had a very good relationship with RailCorp but suddenly, out of the
blue, about 12 months ago they pulled the pin [on our discussions],” Mr
Valilis said. “We’ve heard they are planning to close off the Lawson Street
entrance to the station and that their plan was to build another station on the
Eveleigh goods yards side … They were concerned about the safety of their
staff.”
The company’s chief executive, Mick Mundine, said it was
common sense to create a public space at the top of the Block.
“We want to open it up. We have got to be part of the
community. We’ve had problems on the Block because we were isolated. It will be
better for the railway station, for the police, and for people [who want] to
walk through and mingle.”
Geoff Turnbull from the REDWatch activist group said the
greater Redfern community wanted an end to uncertainty over the future of the
Block. The ambitious plan for the symbolic heart of Aboriginal Sydney includes
62 dwellings for 300 to 400 Aboriginal people – about the same number as in the
1980s.
Residential and commercial buildings will be separated, with
businesses located around the now-truncated Red Square.
The floor-space ratio of the housing is 0.8:1, which the
company hopes will be close enough to the 0.75:1 stipulated by the
Redfern-Waterloo Authority’s built environmental plan. Elsewhere in the City of
Sydney
municipality, developers are only asked to meet a 1:1 ratio.
Consultants have given $5 million worth of pro bono services
to prepare the plan, which will be funded by private equity and commercial
rents, according to Mr Valilis.
But Mr Mundine remains sceptical about whether the
Government will approve it.
“Do you honestly believe that anyone would object to 62
houses being built here for white people? No chance. It’s the colour of our
skin that divides us. It’s such a shame.”
Due to the relevant person being unavailable, RailCorp was
unable to respond to the company’s claims last night, a spokesperson said.